BT praised for armed forces recruitment on fibre broadband project

Recruiting ex-military servicemen and women as BT engineers was a creative step, a marketing expert has said.

BT's decision to employ ex-armed forces personnel to assist with its fibre optic broadband rollout programme has been held up as an example of low-cost creativity.

In May, the telecoms giant announced it would take on around 300 former members of the army, navy and air force as engineers, training them up to help meet the demand of its super-fast broadband strategy.

To raise awareness of the initiative, BT held recruitment days in locations such as Rutland, Aldershot and Manchester.

The company is aiming to deliver the technology to two-thirds of homes and businesses across the UK by the end of 2014.

Speaking to Marketing Week, vice chairman of creative agency Ogilvy Rory Sutherland said examples such as this show that thinking outside the box does not need to be expensive.

In reality, creativity can help brands to achieve their aims without spending more, he argued, commenting: "The best creative thinkers spend most of their time asking questions like 'does the project need this?' and 'can it work without that?'."